Why does Lenz's law have a minus sign?

The minus sign shows that the direction of induced current always opposes the change that created it. So when certain metals are cropped through say a copper tube they slow down. Show video of Lenz's law in action. The current is induced in the opposite direction to ensure that energy is conserved and not created from nothing.
When pushing a magnet into a coil, if you push the North pole towards the coil first then a North pole is induced in the coil to repel the magnet. The magnet is slowed down and repelled by the coil, the kinetic energy here is dissipated as heat.

JJ
Answered by Joseph J. Physics tutor

2161 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

A 12V lamp, 36W is switched on for 1 hour. Find the energy supplied by the battery.


A Uranium-(238,92) nucleus decays into a Thorium-234 nucleus by the emission of an alpha-particle. Given Thorium has a chemical symbol Th build a nuclear equation.


Describe and explain how a constant rate of fission is maintained in a reactor by considering what events or sequence of events may happen to the released neutrons. (6 marks)


What is meant by the doppler effect?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning